Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. Semiconductor devices are typically fabricated by sequentially depositing insulating or dielectric layers, conductive layers, and semiconductive layers of material over a semiconductor substrate, and patterning the various material layers using lithography to form circuit components and elements thereon.
Dozens or hundreds of integrated circuits are typically manufactured on a single semiconductor wafer. The individual die are singulated by sawing the integrated circuits along a scribe line. The individual die are then packaged separately, in multi-chip modules, or in other types of packaging, for example.
One recent type of packaging for semiconductor devices is referred to as an embedded wafer level package (eWLP). An eWLP includes a redistribution layer (RDL) that is used to connect the die to bond pads or contacts on the eWLP. The wiring for RDL is in close proximity to conductive lines on the chip, and packaging die in eWLPs can result in shorts. Some integrated circuits have sacrificial contact pads that are included in scribe line regions for testing, portions of which remain on the chip after the singulation process. The portions of the contact pads can remain in the structure and create shorts to the RDL of eWLPs.
Thus, what are needed in the art are improved test structures and methods for semiconductor devices, particularly for semiconductor devices packaged in eWLPs.